NTSB says Skagit River bridge collapse is wake-up call

An NTSB team will spend a week to 10 days looking at the bridge. | AP Photo

A trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment Thursday evening when his load bumped against the steel framework over the bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw the span collapse into the water behind him.

Motorists should not expect to drive on I-5 between Mount Vernon and Burlington for many weeks and possibly months, Treece said.

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Treece asked people to plan for an extra hour to make their way through detours around the collapsed bridge. There are three detour options northbound and two options southbound.

About 71,000 vehicles use that stretch of highway every day. Late Saturday morning, traffic was moving freely through the detours.

Officials were looking for a temporary, pre-fabricated bridge to replace the 160-foot section that failed, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday. That option could be in place in weeks. Otherwise, it could be months before a replacement can be built, the governor said.

Inslee said it will cost $15 million to repair the bridge. The federal government has promised $1 million in emergency dollars and more money could come later, according to Washington's congressional delegation.

State officials approved Mullen Trucking in Alberta to carry a load as high as 15 feet, 9 inches, according to the permit released by the state. However, the southbound vertical clearance on the Skagit River bridge is as little as 14 feet, 5 inches, state records show. That lowest clearance is outside of the bridge's vehicle traveling lanes, Transportation Department communications director Lars Erickson said Friday. The bridge's curved overhead girders are higher in the center of the bridge but sweep lower toward a driver's right side.

The bridge has a maximum clearance of about 17 feet, but there is no signage to indicate how to safely navigate the bridge with a tall load.

At a news conference later Saturday, Hersman said Washington state does not require signage unless the clearance is 14 feet, 4 inches or less.

The permit specifically describes the route the truck would take, though it includes a qualification that the state "Does Not Guarantee Height Clearance."